IN BRIEF: DHCS Selects Health Plans For Rural Expansion; Hoag Names Braithwaite CEO

DHCS Selects Health Plans For Rural Expansion

The California Department of Health Care Services has selected four health plans to expand the Medi-Cal managed care program into 28 mostly rural counties.

Anthem Blue Cross of California, California Health and Wellness Plan, Partnership HealthPlan of California and the Central California Alliance for Health will receive the contracts, which will cover about 410,000 lives.

“Our new managed care enrollees will now have a medical home to coordinate all of their healthcare needs and a primary care physician to better manage health  conditions,” said “DHCS Director Toby Douglas. “Statewide managed care will help ensure timely access to physicians and better management of services for our members.”

Anthem Blue Cross and California Health and Wellness Plan will serve 18 counties, all of which are in the rural regions north of the Bay Area and Sacramento. Partnership HealthPlan and the California Health Alliance will serve nine other counties.

Imperial County in Southern California is still in the decisionmaking process about how to construct its Medi-Cal managed care system.
The awarding of contracts expands Medi-Cal managed care into all 58 counties in California.

Hoag Names Braithwaite CEO

Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Newport Beach has promoted its chief operating officer into the role of chief executive.

Robert Braithwaite, 53, succeeds Richard Afable, M.D. The 59-year-old Afable was named CEO of the Covenant Health Network, a new organization that migrates Hoag into a network with the St. Joseph Health System. The deal, announced last year, received regulatory approval last month.

Braithwaite has spent virtually his entire career with Hoag, considered one of the top hospitals in Orange County. He joined the hospital in 1992 as an administrative resident. He was named COO in 2009.

“I now fully understand the saying, ‘I’m at a loss for words,’ because it’s difficult to express what a profound privilege it is to be given this opportunity,” Braithwaite said. “I have the deepest respect and admiration for the skilled men and women at Hoag who have dedicated their lives to the community’s health and wellbeing.”

Braithwaite said a top priority in his new job was to expand Hoag's network of urgent care centers.

IEHP Receives Award

San Bernardino-based Inland Empire Health Plan has received an award for its work in providing insurance coverage to children.

IEHP received the Champion for Children Award from California Coverage and Health Initiatives. The award cited IEHP's initiatives to enroll kids in Healthy Families, Medi-Cal and Healthy Kids programs. It has helped 150,000 children enroll over the past decade.

“This award is a great honor because it is a testament to our team's hard work in helping families get health coverage for their children,” said Bradley Gilbert, M.D., IEHP's chief executive officer.

IEHP is the Medi-Cal managed care plan for San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.